On Wednesday, April 25th the $5 million lawsuit filed by filmmaker Jennifer Jarosik accusing Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons of sexually assaulting her was dismissed without prejudice. According to a federal court filing, the two sides came to an agreement regarding the suit, deciding it should be dismissed. Each side will be responsible for their own attorneys’ fees and according to USA Today, there are no details in the filing that indicate whether a settlement was reached.
The definition of dismissal without prejudice is “…dismissal of a case on merits after adjudication. The plaintiff is barred from bringing an action on the same claim. Dismissal with prejudice is a final judgment and the case becomes res judicata on the claims that were or could have been brought in it.” In other words, the lawsuit being dismissed without prejudice means that Jarosik cannot refile the case one the same grounds.
According to Rolling Stone Jarosik claims that the two knew each other for a decade before she visted Simmons’ home in Los Angeles. She alleges that she repeatedly turned down his sexual advances and claims that Simmons “pounced on her while she was still in shock, and fear, and proceeded to rape her.” Simmons has denied Jarosik’s, and all other claims of sexual assault, describing the relationship between them as consensual. Simmons went on to allege that Jarosik had sent unsolicited nude photos to him and the two had friendly conversations over text message for a lengthy period after the alleged rape. Jarosik alleges that Simmons raped her in 2016 while the case was filed in January 2018.
Simmons is facing a separate $10 million lawsuit claiming that he raped a Jane Doe after a Sacramento concert in 1998. Jane Doe claims that Simmons also threatened to rape her young son. Simmons denies all accusations of sexual assault and claims to have passed multiple lie detector tests regarding the accusations. Additionally, Simmon’s lawyer argues that the alleged assault is invalid because it is outside of the statue of limitations.
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